LA MESA, Calif. (KGTV)--Cameron Goodwin said with a family to support, he is always looking to earn a few extra bucks. A few months ago, he signed up to rent his car through the app, Turo.
“It's either sitting there or I can make some money with it,” said Goodwin.
But a few months in, Goodwin said a renter damaged it. A body shop gave him a damage estimate of more then $4,000.
“My stomach sank as soon as I heard it, I love my car,” said Goodwin.
Goodwin said he uploaded pictures of the damaged tire and wheel to his account. He said he then tried to submit a claim online within 24 hours.
“Contact support, and then I went to claims and I know I went through this and found a phone number - I called their general line and then got the contact of the claims department,” said Goodwin.
But, he said, he kept getting an error message.
"I tried the night that it happened and the next morning to file a claim on their online system, which is new, but it wasn't working,” said Goodwin.
He said he called the company, but was not given clear instructions.
An e-mail from a company supervisor acknowledged what happened and said, “I thought your request was very clear…you were obviously asking about getting your own car fixed. I’m sorry that you weren’t assisted in a more efficient manner…"
“As far as them not knowing what was going on, I find it kind of absurb,” said Goodwin.
He said the company offered to pay for only 10-percent of the damages. They said he didn’t submit pictures of all the damages within 24 hours.
“When I went through the automated process, it's not super apparent it is absolutely critical that you document every single piece of this and pictures and all that stuff or you're going to get denied,” said Goodwin.
He said if the company could’ve directed him to the right person when he needed it, he would’ve known exactly what to do.
“If it's extremely necessary to have it in the 24 hours and to have that in there, someone needs to be available,” said Goodwin.
10News reached out to Turo for a comment, but have not received a response yet.
